The present invention relates generally to the field of support pillows, and in particular to support pillows and methods for their use which are intended as improvements to the support pillow and methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,661,861; 6,038,720; 6,055,687; 6,119,873; and 5,546,620, the complete disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference, among others.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 describes a therapeutic support pillow which is provided to support a small child or an infant, and particularly to hold a small child in a manner that prohibits lateral movement. Although the support pillow described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 has been generally successful when used to prohibit the lateral movement of a small child, various improvements are desired. For example, it would be desirable if such a support pillow could be used with an adolescent or an adult. For some applications, it would be further desirable if improvements could be made to the overall structure of the support pillow.
Many adults or adolescents participate in activities which make it desirable to support certain objects or body parts. For example, with activities such as reading, typing, breast feeding, and the like, it is often desirable to support the arms or elbows. As another example, when sleeping in an upright position it is often desirable to have the neck and head supported. As a further example, it is often desirable to provide support to the lower back.
Although some support structures have been proposed for supporting objects or body parts, such as the arms of a chair or certain braces, such structures are often uncomfortable and inconvenient to use. Further, some support structures are not easily portable, thereby limiting their use. In a further drawback, most support structures are designed only for a particular application and do not have multiple uses.
For these and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide an improved support pillow and methods which would overcome these and other drawbacks. In particular, it would be desirable if such a support structure and methods were capable of supporting certain small objects or body parts, such as the arms, elbows, lower back, neck or head. Such a support pillow and methods should be comfortable, portable, and easy to use. In one particular aspect, it would be desirable if such a support pillow could be used in a variety of applications to support certain objects or body parts.
The invention provides a support pillow and methods for its use. In one exemplary method, support is provided to a person""s lower back. According to this method, a support pillow is provided having a resilient cushion body with a medial region and first and second opposing cantilever arms extending from the medial region. The cantilever arms have respective first and second end portions remote from the medial region. The cantilever arms are curved about a vertical access to define a substantially toroidal configuration for the cushion body and to position the first and second end portions in a confronting relation to one another. The cantilever arms and medial region cooperate to define a generally circular open well. Such a support pillow is placed around the person""s torso in the area of the lower back. The first and second end portions of the cantilever arms are positioned in front of the person""s torso, and the medial region of the support pillow is positioned adjacent the person""s lower back. The cantilever arms are biased around the person""s torso to hold the support pillow vertically positioned relative to the person""s torso while the medial region is positioned against the person""s lower back. In this manner, the support pillow may be employed to support the person""s lower back even when the person is in various positions. For example, the support pillow may be used to support the lower back when the person is sitting in an upright position, such as when sitting in a chair. Alternatively, the support pillow may provide support to the person""s lower back while the person is lying.
In one particular aspect, the support pillow is removably held within a flexible container having a bottom end, at least one side and an open top. A base member is held within the bottom end of the container. With this configuration, the base member holds the container in a vertical orientation when the bottom end rests upon a surface, thereby providing a convenient way to store the support pillow. To use the support pillow, the user simply removes the support pillow from the container and then places the pillow around the torso. Preferably, the container comprises a clear polymer and the base member is constructed of a paper material. Optionally, the top end may be provided with a snapable handle which provides a way to both carry the pillow and to close the top end of the container.
In another exemplary method, such a support pillow may be placed around the person""s torso, with the first and second end portions of the cantilever arms being at the back of the person""s torso, and with the medial region of the support pillow being adjacent the front of the person""s torso. The cantilever arms are biased around the person""s torso to hold the support pillow vertically positioned relative to the person""s torso. With the support pillow placed around the person""s torso in this manner, an object may be rested on the cantilever arms or the medial region while the cantilever arms are biased around the person""s torso.
For example, the person may be sitting while resting the object on the cantilever arms. In one exemplary aspect, the object is printed material, such as a book, that is rested on the medial region. Alternatively, other objects such as games, food, video game controls, and the like, may be rested on the medial region. In a further aspect, the person""s elbows or forearms are rested on the medial region. Resting of the person""s forearms or elbows in this manner is advantageous when performing a variety of activities with the hands, such as typing on a keyboard, breast feeding a baby, and the like.
In yet another exemplary method, such a support pillow is provided to support a person""s neck and head. According to the method, the support pillow is placed around the person""s neck with the first and second end portions of the cantilever arms being at the front of the person""s neck. The medial region of the support pillow is positioned adjacent the back of the person""s neck. The cantilever arms extend around the person""s neck so that the neck is supported at least in part by the cantilever arms in the medial region.
In one aspect, the support pillow is positioned so that the cantilever arms rest on the person""s shoulders. In another aspect, the person""s head is tilted so as to rest the person""s neck and head against the support pillow in the region of the open well. For example, the support pillow may be employed to support the person""s neck and head while sitting in a chair or other location where the person""s head may be supported when titled. Alternatively, the support pillow may be employed to support the person""s neck while lying down.
The invention provides an exemplary support pillow having a resilient cushion body, a medial region and first and second opposing cantilever arms extending from the medial region. The cantilever arms have respective first and second end portions remote from the medial region. The cantilever arms are curved about a vertical axis to define a substantially toroidal configuration for the cushion body and to position the first and second end portions in a confronting relation to one another. The cantilever arms and medial region cooperate to define a generally circular open well. At least a portion of the cushion body is covered with a material suitable for receiving a marking substance from a writing instrument such as a pen, marker, or the like. Preferably, such a material comprises a fabric having a smooth surface (such as satin, rip-stop nylon, and the like) and covers a bottom portion of the cushion body. In this way, the support pillow may be employed to receive an autograph or other message by simply turning the support pillow on its side or top and writing on the bottom portion.
In a preferable aspect, a head member is further provided and is attached to the cushion body. The head member will preferably be attached to one of the cantilever arms such that the head member extends in a direction generally parallel to the vertical axis. In one particular aspect, the head member is in the shape of a unicorn.
The invention provides one particularly preferable embodiment of a support pillow which may be used in a liquid medium, such as water. The support pillow comprises a resilient cushion body having a medial region and first and second opposing cantilever arms extending from the medial region. The cantilever arms have respective first and second end portions remote from the medial region, with the cantilever arms being curved about a vertical axis to define a substantially toroidal configuration for the cushion body and to position the first and second end portions in a confronting relation to one another. The cantilever arms and medial region cooperate to define a generally circular open well. The cushion body is constructed of a sponge material so that the cushion body may be placed in a liquid medium. In this way, the support pillow may be placed around the torso of a person when bathing, with the support pillow maintaining the person in a generally upright position. Alternatively, the support pillow may be placed on the bottom of the bath tub, with the person""s head being supported by the medial region.
The invention still further provides a support pillow which conveniently may be provided in kit form. The pillow comprises a pillow body having a medial region and a pair of opposing arms. Further, a central holder is removably secured to the medial region of the pillow body to provide a convenient way to carry and store the support pillow.
In one particular aspect, the central holder comprises a piece of material, such as a paper product, which encircles the medial region. Preferably, the holder includes at least one aperture which is adapted to receive a hanger to hang the support pillow, thereby providing a convenient way to both store and display the support pillow. Optionally, a protective cover, such as a plastic, may be provided to encompass the support pillow.
The invention further provides an exemplary method for storing a support pillow having two opposing arms and a medial region. According to the method, a central holder is placed around the medial region and a hanger is introduced through the central holder to allow the support pillow to hang from the hanger. In this way, the hanger may be employed to conveniently store and display the support pillow. For example, the support pillow may be display along a store aisle to allow a purchaser to easily visualize the support pillow and then remove the support pillow from hanger for purchase.
In a further exemplary embodiment, a support pillow is provided comprising a resilient cushion body and at least one strap which is attached to the cushion body. The strap is configured to attach an article, such as a child""s toy, to the cushion body.
In a preferable aspect, the pillow includes two or more straps so that a variety of toys may be attached to the pillow. Further, the pillow will preferably be fashioned to include a medial region and first and second arms extending from the medial region to define a generally circular open well. With this arrangement, the straps are attached to the medial region so that a child may lay on the pillow, with the stomach being over the well, and play with the toys that are attached to the pillow. The straps are therefore advantageous in that they hold the toys close to the pillow so that the child will not push the toys out of reach during play.
The straps may be configured in a variety of ways to hold the toys to the pillow. For example, the toys could be tied to the pillow with the straps. Preferably, each strap will include a fastener which allows the strap to be formed into a loop to secure the article. For instance, each strap may be provided with a hook and loop fastener. In this way, the toys will be removably attached to the pillow to allow for convenient removal and replacement of the toys.
In a further embodiment, the invention provides a support pillow that is constructed of a resilient pillow body having a medial region and two opposing arms extending from the medial region to form a generally open well. The pillow body further includes an outer periphery and an inner periphery adjacent the well. A handle is coupled to the medial region at the outer periphery to provide a convenient way to move and transport the pillow.
In one aspect, the handle comprises an elongate member having a pair of ends that are attached to the medial region to form an opening between the handle and the medial region. The distance across the opening measured perpendicular to the medial region may be about 1 inch to about 4 inches. In this way, a user""s fingers may be slipped between the medial region and the handle when grasping the handle. When lifted, the arms hang vertically below the handle.
The pillow body may be constructed in a manner similar to any of the embodiments described herein, and the pillow may be used in a manner similar to any of the embodiments described herein. In the event that the pillow body includes a fabric cover, the handle ends may conveniently be sewn to the fabric cover. In one aspect, the elongate member may be constructed of a resilient material.